AWHS Dance Troupe sought out new additions to their team during their highly anticipated two-week-long tryouts, which took place last week in the yoga room from Monday, Aug. 30 through Tuesday, Aug. 31, and Tuesday, Sept. 6 through Wednesday, Sept. 7. 

Dance Troupe is a close-knit community where everyone is incredibly devoted to the team and each other. Therefore, the captains and coaches had to find new members that would also be devoted to the team.

“The main qualities I look for when choosing new members is skill level, but equally as important is attitude and willingness to contribute to the group environment and community,” said AWHS Dance Troupes coach, Lily Ashby.

Approximately fifteen people tried out this year during both the first week and second weeks of tryouts. Due to this large turnout, six new members made it onto the team. 

“[Tryouts] went very well, we have really great captains, and it was nice to see everyone and to be back dancing with everyone,” said sophomore and second-year Dance Troupe member Amelie Jenks.

“… watching their ideas come to life is inspiring and so rewarding. It’s also incredible to be able to watch freshmen through seniors form an almost familial bond,” Ashby said.

Along with many other AWHS sports, Amelie says that Dance Troupe has faced plenty of setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were unable to do in-person performances at rallies, which is an integral part of being a member of Dance Troupe.

“We had to do virtual rallies with ComAcad and it was difficult to film, and just a long process to produce,” Amelie said.

Even though they missed the audience aspect of performing, Ashby says that Dance Troupe’s virtual rallies were still successful. 

“The main excitement that the members of Dance Troupe thrive off of is performing in front of an audience,” Ashby said. “We had to shift our focus from live performances to edited videos; however, the team members made the most of it and absolutely killed it regardless of the hardships we faced.”

In addition, Dance Troupe was previously unable to practice inside the yoga room like they usually do. Instead, they had to practice outside on the baseball field to follow COVID-19 precautions.

“It was really hard having to practice outside, and hard for us to find a space that works [because of the lack of mirrors],” Amelie said.

Now that COVID-19 restrictions have generally been lifted, however, Ashby anticipates that in-person rallies will be returning.

“This year I look forward to the team being able to perform live and feed off of the adrenaline of an audience,” said Ashby. 

After tryouts, the new Dance Troupe team is preparing for a return to in-person rallies this year in hopes of showcasing their new routines.